18 Aql (18 Aquilae)

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Reliability Checks on the Indo-US Stellar Spectral Library Using Artificial Neural Networks and Principal Component AnalysisThe Indo-US coudé feed stellar spectral library (CFLIB) madeavailable to the astronomical community recently by Valdes et al. (2004,ApJS, 152, 251) contains spectra of 1273 stars in the spectral region3460 to 9464Å at a high resolution of 1Å (FWHM) and a widerange of spectral types. Cross-checking the reliability of this databaseis an important and desirable exercise since a number of stars in thisdatabase have no known spectral types and a considerable fraction ofstars has not so complete coverage in the full wavelength region of3460-9464Å resulting in gaps ranging from a few Å to severaltens of Å. We use an automated classification scheme based onArtificial Neural Networks (ANN) to classify all 1273 stars in thedatabase. In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) is carried outto reduce the dimensionality of the data set before the spectra areclassified by the ANN. Most importantly, we have successfullydemonstrated employment of a variation of the PCA technique to restorethe missing data in a sample of 300 stars out of the CFLIB.

Evolution of interacting binaries with a B type primary at birthWe revisited the analytical expression for the mass ratio distributionfor non-evolved binaries with a B type primary. Selection effectsgoverning the observations were taken into account in order to comparetheory with observations. Theory was optimized so as to fit best withthe observed q-distribution of SB1s and SB2s. The accuracy of thistheoretical mass ratio distribution function is severely hindered by theuncertainties on the observations. We present a library of evolutionarycomputations for binaries with a B type primary at birth. Some liberalcomputations including loss of mass and angular momentum during binaryevolution are added to an extensive grid of conservative calculations.Our computations are compared statistically to the observeddistributions of orbital periods and mass ratios of Algols. ConservativeRoche Lobe Over Flow (RLOF) reproduces the observed distribution oforbital periods but fails to explain the observed mass ratios in therange q in [0.4-1]. In order to obtain a better fit the binaries have tolose a significant amount of matter, without losing much angularmomentum.

B Star Rotational Velocities in h and χ Persei: A Probe of Initial Conditions during the Star Formation Epoch?Projected rotational velocities (vsini) have been measured for 216 B0-B9stars in the rich, dense h and χ Persei double cluster and comparedwith the distribution of rotational velocities for a sample of fieldstars having comparable ages (t~12-15 Myr) and masses (M~4-15Msolar). For stars that are relatively little evolved fromtheir initial locations on the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) (those withmasses M~4-5 Msolar), the mean vsini measured for the h andχ Per sample is slightly more than 2 times larger than the meandetermined for field stars of comparable mass, and the cluster and fieldvsini distributions differ with a high degree of significance. Forsomewhat more evolved stars with masses in the range 5-9Msolar, the mean vsini in h and χ Per is 1.5 times thatof the field; the vsini distributions differ as well, but with a lowerdegree of statistical significance. For stars that have evolvedsignificantly from the ZAMS and are approaching the hydrogen exhaustionphase (those with masses in the range 9-15 Msolar), thecluster and field star means and distributions are only slightlydifferent. We argue that both the higher rotation rates and the patternof rotation speeds as a function of mass that differentiatemain-sequence B stars in h and χ Per from their field analogs werelikely imprinted during the star formation process rather than a resultof angular momentum evolution over the 12-15 Myr cluster lifetime. Wespeculate that these differences may reflect the effects of the higheraccretion rates that theory suggests are characteristic of regions thatgive birth to dense clusters, namely, (1) higher initial rotationspeeds; (2) higher initial radii along the stellar birth line, resultingin greater spin-up between the birth line and the ZAMS; and (3) a morepronounced maximum in the birth line radius-mass relationship thatresults in differentially greater spin-up for stars that become mid- tolate-B stars on the ZAMS.

An empirical temperature calibration for the Δ a photometric system . I. The B-type starsWe establish an empirical effective temperature calibration of mainsequence, luminosity class V to III B-type stars for the Δ aphotometric system which was originally developed to detect magneticchemically peculiar objects of the upper main sequence (early B-type toearly F-type) at 5200 Å. However, this system provides the index(g_1-y) which shows an excellent correlation with (B-V) as well as (b-y)and can be used as an indicator of the effective temperature. This issupplemented by a very accurate color-magnitude diagram, y or V versus(g_1-y), which can be used, for example, to determine the reddening,distance and age of an open cluster. This makes the Δ aphotometric system an excellent tool to investigate theHertzsprung-Russell-Diagram (HRD) in more detail. Using thereddening-free parameters and already established calibrations withinthe Strömgren uvbyβ, Geneva 7-color and Johnson UBV systems, apolynomial fit of third degree for the averaged effective temperaturesto the individual (g_1-y)0 values was derived. For thispurpose, data from the literature as well as new observations were takenresulting in 225 suitable bright normal B-type objects. The statisticalmean of the error for this sample is 238 K which is sufficient toinvestigate the HRD of distant galactic open clusters as well asextragalactic aggregates in the future.

The Indo-US Library of Coudé Feed Stellar SpectraWe have obtained spectra for 1273 stars using the 0.9 m coudéfeed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This telescope feedsthe coudé spectrograph of the 2.1 m telescope. The spectra havebeen obtained with the no. 5 camera of the coudé spectrograph anda Loral 3K×1K CCD. Two gratings have been used to provide spectralcoverage from 3460 to 9464 Å, at a resolution of ~1 Å FWHMand at an original dispersion of 0.44 Å pixel-1. For885 stars we have complete spectra over the entire 3460 to 9464 Åwavelength region (neglecting small gaps of less than 50 Å), andpartial spectral coverage for the remaining stars. The 1273 stars havebeen selected to provide broad coverage of the atmospheric parametersTeff, logg, and [Fe/H], as well as spectral type. The goal ofthe project is to provide a comprehensive library of stellar spectra foruse in the automated classification of stellar and galaxy spectra and ingalaxy population synthesis. In this paper we discuss thecharacteristics of the spectral library, viz., details of theobservations, data reduction procedures, and selection of stars. We alsopresent a few illustrations of the quality and information available inthe spectra. The first version of the complete spectral library is nowpublicly available from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory(NOAO) via ftp and http.

Rotational Velocities of B StarsWe measured the projected rotational velocities of 1092 northern B starslisted in the Bright Star Catalogue (BSC) and calibrated them againstthe 1975 Slettebak et al. system. We found that the published values ofB dwarfs in the BSC average 27% higher than those standards. Only 0.3%of the stars have rotational velocities in excess of two-thirds of thebreakup velocities, and the mean velocity is only 25% of breakup,implying that impending breakup is not a significant factor in reducingrotational velocities. For the B8-B9.5 III-V stars the bimodaldistribution in V can be explained by a set of slowly rotating Ap starsand a set of rapidly rotating normal stars. For the B0-B5 III-V starsthat include very few peculiar stars, the distributions in V are notbimodal. Are the low rotational velocities of B stars due to theoccurrence of frequent low-mass companions, planets, or disks? Therotational velocities of giants originating from late B dwarfs areconsistent with their conservation of angular momentum in shells.However, we are puzzled by why the giants that originate from the earlyB dwarfs, despite having 3 times greater radii, have nearly the samerotational velocities. We find that all B-type primaries in binarieswith periods less than 2.4 days have synchronized rotational and orbitalmotions; those with periods between 2.4 and 5.0 days are rotating withina factor 2 of synchronization or are ``nearly synchronized.'' Thecorresponding period ranges for A-type stars are 4.9 and 10.5 days, ortwice as large. We found that the rotational velocities of the primariesare synchronized earlier than their orbits are circularized. The maximumorbital period for circularized B binaries is 1.5 days and for Abinaries is 2.5 days. For stars of various ages from 107.5 to1010.2 yr the maximum circularized periods are a smoothexponential function of age.

Speckle observations of binary systems measured by HipparcosFrom speckle observations made with the PISCO speckle camera at the Picdu Midi Observatory, we present high angular resolution astrometric datafor 43 binary stars already observed by the Hipparcos satellite. Thissample consists of mainly new Hipparcos eclipsing binaries with a visualcompanion closer than one arcsecond, chosen with the aim to study thedynamical implications of a third component on the observationalparameters of the eclipsing system. In addition, we also included aselection of close visual binaries with few speckle data in order toanalyse possible systematic departures between the speckle and thenon-speckle orbits. The reduction method and the results are presentedin detail. For the close visual binaries we confront our observationswith the ephemerides based on the best known orbits. For the wide visualbinaries the confrontation is made directly with the Hipparcos data. Ourobservations are consistent both with previous speckle data and withmost of the Hipparcos measurements. Based on observations made with theTélescope Bernard Lyot at the Pic du Midi Observatory, France andon data obtained by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite. This work hasalso made use of the Simbad database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg,France.

Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statisticsThe Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521

ICCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars. XXIII. Measurements during 1982-1997 from Six Telescopes, with 14 New OrbitsWe present 2017 observations of 1286 binary stars, observed by means ofspeckle interferometry using six telescopes over a 15 year period from1982 April to 1997 June. These measurements constitute the 23dinstallment in CHARA's speckle program at 2 to 4 m class telescopes andinclude the second major collection of measurements from the MountWilson 100 inch (2.5 m) Hooker Telescope. Orbital elements are alsopresented for 14 systems, seven of which have had no previouslypublished orbital analyses.

Two-colour photometry for 9473 components of close Hipparcos double and multiple starsUsing observations obtained with the Tycho instrument of the ESAHipparcos satellite, a two-colour photometry is produced for componentsof more than 7 000 Hipparcos double and multiple stars with angularseparations 0.1 to 2.5 arcsec. We publish 9473 components of 5173systems with separations above 0.3 arcsec. The majority of them did nothave Tycho photometry in the Hipparcos catalogue. The magnitudes arederived in the Tycho B_T and V_T passbands, similar to the Johnsonpassbands. Photometrically resolved components of the binaries withstatistically significant trigonometric parallaxes can be put on an HRdiagram, the majority of them for the first time. Based on observationsmade with the ESA Hipparcos satellite.

Mapping the contours of the Local bubble: preliminary resultsWe present preliminary results from a long-term program of mapping theneutral absorption characteristics of the local interstellar medium,taking advantage of Hipparcos stellar distances. Equivalent widths ofthe NaI D-line doublet at 5890 Å are presented for thelines-of-sight towards some 143 new target stars lying within 300 pc ofthe Sun. Using these data which were obtained at the Observatoire deHaute Provence, together with previously published NaI absorptionmeasurements towards a further 313 nearby targets, we present absorptionmaps of the distribution of neutral gas in the local interstellar mediumas viewed from 3 different galactic projections. In particular, thesemaps reveal the Local Bubble region as a low neutral densityinterstellar cavity in the galactic plane with radii between 65-250 pcthat is surrounded by a (dense) neutral gas boundary (or ``wall''). Wehave compared our iso-column contours with the contours derived bySnowden et al. (\cite{snowden98}) using ROSAT soft X-ray emission data.Consistency in the global dimensions derived for both sets of contoursis found for the case of a million degree hot LB plasma of emissivity0.0023 cm(-6) pc with an electron density of 0.005 cm(-2) . We havedetected only one relatively dense accumulation of cold, neutral gaswithin 60 pc of the Sun that surrounds the star delta Cyg, and note thatthe nearest molecular cloud complex of MBM 12 probably resides at thevery edge of the Local Bubble at a distance of ~ 90 pc. Our observationsmay also explain the very different physical properties of the columnsof interstellar gas in the line-of-sight to the two hot stars epsilonCMa and beta CMa as being due to their locations with respect to theBubble contours. Finally, in the meridian plane the LB cavity is foundto be elongated perpendicularly to the Gould's Belt plane, possiblybeing ``squeezed'' by the expanding shells of the Sco-Cen andPerseus-Taurus OB associations. Tables 1 and 2 are also available inelectronic form at the CDS (Strasbourg) via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

The Tokyo PMC catalog 90-93: Catalog of positions of 6649 stars observed in 1990 through 1993 with Tokyo photoelectric meridian circleThe sixth annual catalog of the Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle(PMC) is presented for 6649 stars which were observed at least two timesin January 1990 through March 1993. The mean positions of the starsobserved are given in the catalog at the corresponding mean epochs ofobservations of individual stars. The coordinates of the catalog arebased on the FK5 system, and referred to the equinox and equator ofJ2000.0. The mean local deviations of the observed positions from theFK5 catalog positions are constructed for the basic FK5 stars to comparewith those of the Tokyo PMC Catalog 89 and preliminary Hipparcos resultsof H30.

Kinematical Structure of the Local Interstellar Medium: The Galactic Center HemisphereA survey of interstellar Na I D1 and D2 absorption features found in thespectra of 31 early-type stars in the first and fourth Galacticquadrants reveals a new picture of the large-scale kinematics ofinterstellar gas in the vicinity of the Sun. While absorption featuresfound in the spectra of stars in the fourth Galactic quadrant show thegas expanding from stars in the Scorpio-Centaurus OB association, starsin the first Galactic quadrant, in the range of distances covered bythis survey (74--312 pc from the Sun), show interstellar gas fallingtoward the Galactic plane with a bulk motion whose component parallel tothat plane is directed toward the Scorpio-Centaurus association. Thispicture differs completely from generally accepted models in which thenearby interstellar gas flows away from the Scorpio-Centaurusassociation toward the Galactic anticenter. Evidence for the presence ofan expanding shell-like feature that is reaching the solar system ispresented.

MSC - a catalogue of physical multiple starsThe MSC catalogue contains data on 612 physical multiple stars ofmultiplicity 3 to 7 which are hierarchical with few exceptions. Orbitalperiods, angular separations and mass ratios are estimated for eachsub-system. Orbital elements are given when available. The catalogue canbe accessed through CDS (Strasbourg). Half of the systems are within 100pc from the Sun. The comparison of the periods of close and widesub-systems reveals that there is no preferred period ratio and allpossible combinations of periods are found. The distribution of thelogarithms of short periods is bimodal, probably due to observationalselection. In 82\% of triple stars the close sub-system is related tothe primary of a wide pair. However, the analysis of mass ratiodistribution gives some support to the idea that component masses areindependently selected from the Salpeter mass function. Orbits of wideand close sub-systems are not always coplanar, although thecorresponding orbital angular momentum vectors do show a weak tendencyof alignment. Some observational programs based on the MSC aresuggested. Tables 2 and 3 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

A Catalogue of Correlations Between Eclipsing Binaries and Other Categories of Double StarsAmong the 9110 stars in The Bright Star Catalogue, there are 225eclipsing or ellipsoidal variables. A search has been made for these incatalogues of spectroscopic binaries, visual double or multiple stars,speckle interferometry, occulation binaries, and galatic clusters. Themajority of the photometric binaries are also members of groups ofhigher multiplicity. The variables are in systems ranging from one to 91stars, five on the average. 199 are either spectroscopic binaries (SB)or stars with variable radial velocity, with orbital periods known for160. Photometric periods are lacking for 48 while SB periods areavailable for 23 of these. Observers with photoelectric equipment areencouraged to plan observations to test if the SB periods are consistentwith photometric data. Observers are likewise encouraged to examinethose stars for which the photometric and SB periods appear to beinconsistent. Parallaxes are available for 86 of the stars, 41 of themindicating distances nearer than 50 parsecs.

The Stromvil System: an Effective Combination of Two Medium-Band Photometric SystemsIt is shown that the addition to the Stromgren four-color photometricsystem of three passbands at 374, 516 and 656 nm from the Vilniusphotometric system makes the combined system more universal. This newsystem, called the Stromvil system, makes it possible to classify starsof all spectral types, even in the presence of interstellar reddening.This property of the system is especially important in CCD photometry,allowing the photometric classification of very faint stars. Apreliminary calibration of the system in terms of spectral andluminosity classes, temperatures and surface gravities is available. Alist of preliminary standards for the Stromvil system in the regions ofCygnus, Aquila and near the North Celestial Pole is given.

The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright OB-type stars.For the detailed statistical analysis of the X-ray emission of hot starswe selected all stars of spectral type O and B listed in the Yale BrightStar Catalogue and searched for them in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. Inthis paper we describe the selection and preparation of the data andpresent a compilation of the derived X-ray data for a complete sample ofbright OB stars.

Speckle observations of visual and spectroscopic binaries. IVThis is the fourth paper of this series giving results of speckleobservations for 22 visual and 161 spectroscopic binaries. Theobservation was carried out by using the 212 cm telescope of San PedroMartir Observatory in Mexico on 7 nights from July 20 to July 26, 1991.We obtained fringes in power spectra of 19 visual and 11 spectroscopicbinaries (6 newly resolved ones) with angular separation larger than0.06 arcsec. We introduced a new ICCD TV camera in this observation, andwere able to achieve the diffraction-limit resolution of the 212 cmtelescope.

Speckle observations of visual and spectroscopic binaries. IIIThis is the third paper of this series giving results of speckleobservations carried out for seven visual and 119 spectroscopic binariesat seven nights from May 20 to May 27, 1989, and for 30 visual and 272spectroscopic binaries at 12 nights from June 11 to June 15, and fromAugust 28 to September 3, 1990, using the 212-cm telescope at San PedroMartir Observatory in Mexico. Fringes in the lower spectrum of 31 visualand spectroscopic binaries with angular separation larger than 21 arcsecare obtained. Additionally to two spectroscopic binaries, HD41116 andHD206901, named in the second paper of this series, six spectroscopicbinaries are found each of which has the third component starsurrounding two stars of spectroscopic binary having periodic variationof radial velocity.

Fifth fundamental catalogue. Part 2: The FK5 extension - new fundamental starsThe mean positions and proper motions for 3117 new fundamental starsessentially in the magnitude range about 4.5 to 9.5 are given in thisFK5 extension. Mean apparent visual magnitude is 7.2 and is on average2.5 magnitudes fainter then the basic FK5 which has a mean magnitude of4.7. (The basic FK5 gives the mean positions and proper motions for theclassical 1535 fundamental stars). The following are discussed: theobservational material, reduction of observations, star selection, andthe system for the FK5 extension. An explanation and description of thecatalog are given. The catalog of 3117 fundamental stars for the equinoxand epoch J2000.0 and B1950.0 is presented. The parallaxes and radialvelocities for 22 extension stars with large forecasting effects aregiven. Catalogs used in the compilation of the FK5 fundamental catalogare listed.

Speckle observations of spectroscopic binariesResults from speckle observations of binary stars carried out between1987 and 1990 using a 212-cm telescope at the San Pedro MartirObservatory, Mexico, are presented. Fringe patterns for 21 of the 76reduced spectroscopic binaries in the Fourier domain were detected. Thespeckle observations and the astrometric observations are consistent forthe stars HD41116, HD202275, and HD206901.